Ironing machine



April 13 1926.

. H. G. GROSSE 1120mm MACHINE 1 Filed July 21, 1924 2 Shuts-Sheet l H. e. GRCSSE IRONING MACHINE Filed July 2 1, 1924 April 13 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Y ironing machines of that Patented Apr. 13, 1926.

HERMAN e. (moses, or CHICAGO, ILLINoIs.

IRONiING MACHINE.

Application filed July 21, 1924. Serial No. 727,382.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERMAN G. Gnossn, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have mv'ented certain new and useful Improvements in Ironing Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in type including a rotary padded roll between which and a heating shoe the clothes to be ironed are fed and pressed, the roll being held by pressure towards the of the work which is fed between the rol and shoe by the tractive effort of the roll.

In machinesof this character, the padded roll is mounted to be movable toward and from the concave face of the shoe and is rotatable at its top toward the shoe to carry or feed the work between the roll and shoe, there being driving connections extending from the machine base to the roll to effect I the rotation of the roll in one direction.

. proj ecting- Among the objects of the invention is to produce what may be termed a dual, openended machine, in that the roll and shoe and the supporting and driving mechanism for the roll are so related that the clothing to be ironed, hereinafter termed work, can be fed between the roll and the length of the roll and equally well fed between the roll and shoe at either end ofthe roll; due to the fact that there are no parts at the ends of the roll which will prevent free approach of the work to the space between the roll and shoe, and due also to the fact that the driving gearing which rotates the 'rollis not exposed at the roll end and, therefore, avoids danger of the work being caught in the drivmg gearing.

In machines of this type, it is desirable when ironing symmetrical articles of work, such as shirts, waistsand the like, to be able to alternately insert-the work between the roll and shoe at both ends thereof, and it is also desirable in ironing yvork'that is of larger dimensions than the length of the roll and shoe to permit part of the workto extend beyond eitherend of the roll and shoe. These different approaches of the work to shoe to effect the pressing p 1 both ends of the roll.

supports the roll and permits shoe entirely across rotates with the roll.

the roll and shoe, and other approaches which are encountered in the operation of a machine of this character, greatly simplifies the ironing operation and permits the operator to perform all of the ironing operation without moving far from a. central operating position in v A further object of the invention, subordinate to and directed towards the main feature above mentioned, is the employment of supporting means by which the roll is supported and moved bodily towards and from the shoe, constructed to afiord a housing for a train of gears which connects the roll with 'driving'power below. In such machines, it is desirable that the roll shall have a continuous pressing surface, and driving ower is, therefore, communicated to one or In machines of ordinary size, such driving power can be communicated to one end of the roll, and this invention contemplates the conone of the swinging arms which movement thereof towards and from the shoe, as a hollow element to constitute a housing or chamber to enclose the driving gears,

' A further and specific object of the inven-' tion is to provide means for hinging the roll phase of m struction o supporting and operating arms to the machine frame. A further object of the invention is to provide a novel means of connecting the last gear of the driving trainto a gear which "Further objects of the invention are to front of the machine.

further simplify, and improve iron ng machines of this general "type, and the invention is described inthespecification with respect to' a preferred embodiment thereof,

and is particularly'pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a front elevation of an ironing machine embodying my to indicate indefif invention, broken away,

nite length. I t Figure 2 is an end view thereof.

I5ig11re.3,isa section detail which illustrates the gear mechanism for, connecting the gear train to the roll, takenon the, indirect line 3.-3 of Figure 2. I I.

Figure 4 is a-horizontal detail section .on

the general line H of Figure 2, with parts omitted and other parts broken away.v I As I shown in the drawings-"10 designates the base of the machine, the ends of-which are connected by the tie elements 11, and preferably having a back wall. The superframe embraces end pieces or castings 12 supported above and in the general plane of the end pieces of the subframe or base 10; and said upper end frame pieces are formed with rear, upward extensions 13 which carry a known form of fixed shoe 14 that may be heated by gas or electricity.

15 designates a padded, cylindric roll that lies in front of and is opposed to the concave ironing face of the shoe 14. 16, 16 designates mounting and pressure armsfor the roll, said arms being adapted to support the weight of the roll and to move it towards and from the shoe. 17 designates a table over which the work is fed to the top of the roll and thence into the space between the roll and the shoe; the work being guided into said space by an upstanding 11p 18 constituting part of the casting of the shoe. The table 17 is normally horizontal and flush with the upper surface of the roll. It is pivoted at 19 to extensions of the arms and is normally held in its feeding position by springs 20.

21 designates themotor which drives the roll. It is wall-mounted on one of the end frames of the base 10. The motorbelt drives through a pulley 23, a shaft 24 which has a worm gear train connection to a countershaft 25 arranged above and at right angles to the shaft 24. Said countershaft 25 extends outwardly through and has bearing in a bushing 26 which is seated in the hub 27 of the right hand roll support and pressure arm 16, said hub .being rotatably supported inthe end frame 12. Said countershaft 25 is driven and controlled by the driving mechanism illustrated in the co-pending aplication of Christopher Groen, Serial Numer 733,939 filed on the 25th day of August, 1924. Said driving mechanism embraces, so far as it is necessary to disclose it here, a clutch mechanism which is operated to connect and disconnect the rotative countershaft 25 to the driving gear train for the roll.

28 designates the lowermost gear and 29 the uppermost gear of said train, and 30, 30 designate the intermediate gears of the train. The right hand arm 16 is hollow to produce a chamber or enclosure for the gear train, and said gears are rotatably supported on shafts fixed in the walls of the hollow arm. Said hollow arm, as herein shown, embraces a recessed casting constituting the major portion thereof, and a thinner plate 31 constituting the outer side of the arm, and

is detachably fixed to the casting by the screws shown in Figure 2. The said gear 28 is coaxial with the pivotal axis of the arms 16 and the axis of the shaft 25, whereby pivotal movement of the arm can be effectedto move the roll toward and from the shoe whlle mamtaimng the gear tram 1n operative driving relation to driving power and the roll.

The first gear 28 of the train is rotatable on the shaft 25, and is adapted to be connected to and disconnected fro-m the countershaft 25 by a clutch which includes an annular series of laterally directed clutch teeth 32 on the gear 28 adapted to engage with similar clutch teeth 33 of a clutch collar 34, endwise slidable on a sleeve 38 through the medium of a clutch finger 35 that is carried by an endwise movable, rotative shaft 30 mounted in the machine frame and controlled by a knob 37. Said clutch collar is endwise slidable on but rotates with a sleeve 38, as through thesplinc shown in Figure 4, the sleeve being fast to said countershaft 25. The detail of this clutch is shown in said Groen application and need not be more fully referred to hereexcept to say that the sleeve 38 fits over theouter end of the eountershaft 25 and is provided with a central opening to receive the reduced, Screw-threaded extremity of said countershaft, whereby it is fastened to the countershaft; the hand of the thread being such relative to the normal direction of rotation of the shaft 25 as to hold the sleeve in place on the countershaft.

.The terminal gear 29 of the driving gear train is fixed to a stub shaft 39v that is mounted to rotate in a bushing 40 which is seated in bore formed in an inwardly directed exfe iision 41 at the upper end of the arm 16. Said shaft 39 is fixed to or made integral with the pinion 42 which drum and in which is mounted a fixed shaft 47. Said shaft 47 is shown as fixed in place by means of a screw stud 48 that is screwed through the extension 44 bored to receive the outer end of the shaft 47, with the screw hearing at its inner end against said shaft. The roll is rotatably supported on said shaft 47 through the medium of a bushing 48; and a spacer 49 spaces said arm extension 41 from the roll bearing tube 46.

With this construction, it will be apparent that shaft 47 is carried by the upper ends of the arms 16, the connection of said shaft with the left hand arm being generally similar to that illustrated in Figure 3, and that the roll is free to rotate about said shaft and is rotated by the motor through the gear train described. .The roll may be held pressed towards the shoe by mechanism illustrated in the aforesaid Groen application and may also be retracted from the shoe by means of the lattermechanism. It will be noted from an inspection interfere with the gear train when the roll is moved towards of Figures 1, 2 and 3 that the geared end of the roll is free from projections, either driving or other structural projections, of such nature as to prevent easy approach 0 the work to the space between the roll and shoe, said geared end of the roll being as free in this regard as the other end of the roll. Therefore, both ends of the roll are open to receive the work with equal facility and convenience, brought thereto by an operator standing in front of and centrally with respect to the machine. It will also be observed that the open gear end of the roll is made possible within compact compass by making the adjustable supporting and pressure arm of the roll hollow to constitute a casing or a guard for the driving gear train. So far as this aspect of the invention is concerned, the construction at the gear end of the roll amounts to more than a mere guard for the gear train, inasmuch as the roll supporting and pressure arm performs the plural functions of pivotally supporting the roll to permit it to be swung towards and away from the shoe and encloses the gear train within what may be termed normal end limits of the machine. The con-.

struction, therefore, having these plural characteristics, is simplified and is compact and attractive. Moreover, by mounting the gear train in the swinging arm, movement of the roll towards and from the shoe does not driving functions of the or from the shoe.

The insertion of the internal gear 43, adapted to mesh with the pinion 42 which is rotated by the terminal gear of the train and the insetting of the arm extension 41 into the open gear end of the roll, also contributes towards compactness and ready adaptation of the open end feature of the geared end of the roll. If'desired, driving power can-be transmitted to both ends of the roll with the same facility in respect 0 an open ended roll, compactness and guarding of gears, as with a single driving gear train.

I claim as my invention:

1. An ironing machine comprising a shoe and a rotatable roll, supporting members for said shoe and roll constructed and arranged to leave the space between the shoe and the roll open at each end of the roll, the supporting members for the roll having their outer faces lying close to the ends of the roll at and below the latter to permit work to extend past said members and into the space between the shoe and the roll without meeting any obstruction, and driving means for the roll extending through one of the rollsupporting members.

2. An ironing machine comprising a shoe and a rotatable roll, supporting members for said shoe and roll constructed and arranged to leave the space between the shoe and the roll and the space below the roll open at each end of the roll, and a drivingtrain for the f roll extending through and housed by one of said members.

3. In an ironing machine, a base, a stationary shoe mounted a considerable distance above 'the base, a rotatable roll arranged in front of the shoe, supports for the shoe rising from the base and lying wholly in rear of the shoe, supports for the roll rising from the front of the base at each end of the roll and having their outer sides lying wholly Within vertical planes located near the ends of the roll, and driving means for the roll ,lying within the plane of the outer face of one of the roll-supports.

4:. In anironing machine, a base, a shoe located a considerable distance above the base, a rotatable roll lying in front of the shoe, means rising from the base and lying wholly in rear of the shoe for supporting the latter, two swinging arms extending upwardly from the front of the base in front of and adjacent to each end of the roll, said arms having rearward projections at their upper ends extending into the vicinity of the axis of the roll to support the latter, and a train of gearing for rotating said roll extending upwardly through one of said arms.

5. An ironing machine comprising a shoe, and an opposing rotative roll, pivotally mounted supporting and pressure arms for carrying said roll, and a gear train for driving said roll, comprising a power driven gear coaxial with the pivot of said arms, said train being carried by one of said arms.

6. In an ironing machine, a stationary shoe, arotatable roll lying in front of the shoe, supports extending downwardly from the roll in front thereof and from the shoe in rear thereof, the supports for the roll having rearward extensions at their upper ends and lying wholly above the bottom of f the roll to support the roll, said extensions having their outer faces lying close to the ends of the roll, and driving means for the roll lyinginside of the plane of the outer face of one of said extensions.

7. An ironing machine comprising a shoe and a rotatable roll arranged one in front of the other, and supporting and driving means for the roll and supporting means for the shoe disposed away from the interspace between the shoe and the roll to leave the ends of the latter open and so located and shaped as to leave a deep unobstructed space, open at the ends, extending from beneath the shoe underneath the roll to the remote side of the roll.

-8. In an ironing machine, a supporting member, a shoe located a considerable distance above said member, a roll lying in front of the shoe, means rising from said member porting the latter, two swinging arms extending upwardly from said member and lying Wholly in front of the roll and with the outer surfaces close to the ends of the 5 roll, said arms having rearward projections at their upper ends lying Wholly above the bottom of the roll and extending into the vicinity of the axis of the roll to support the latter.

In witness whereof I claim the foregoing 10 as my invention, I hereunto append my signature this 23rd day of June, 1924.

HERMAN G. GROSSE. 

